The US November benzene Contract Price was settled at a record high of $4.90/gal ($1,465.10/mt) FOB US Gulf Wednesday, up 50 cents/gal ($149.50/mt) from the October settlement, market sources said.
The previous high was for the August CP, which was settled at $4.60/gal ($1,375.40/mt) FOB.
ExxonMobil nominated the November CP on Monday at $6/gal ($1,794/mt), sources said. But this could not be confirmed with the company.
The front month benzene spot price surged to a historic high of $5.36/gal ($1,602.64/mt) FOB USG on October 19, when traders sought to cover short positions after Asian imports were delayed.
On Wednesday, the November benzene spot price was assessed at $4.97/gal ($1,486.03/mt) FOB USG, unchanged from Tuesday.
Earlier Wednesday, an initial Northwest Europe benzene CP for November was settled at Eur1,032/mt, or $1,338/mt FD NWE, up Eur34/mt from October.
In Asia, JX Nippon Oil & Energy settled its November CP at $1,285/mt CFR, up $45/mt from October.
